HABA’s SOS Whitewater board game has been awarded a Fall 2011 Parents’ Choice Recommended Seal in the Games Category. The Parents’ Choice judges’ review showed an appreciation for HABA’s talent of combining European craftsmanship with making playtime products stimulating.
For more information on HABA products, visit www.HABAusa.com.
The ABC Kids Expo, the annual trade show of products and gear for babies and children, has been honored by the Trade Show News Network (TSNN) for its growth in attendance and net square footage. Of the 20 fastest-growing shows in North America, ABC Kids Expo ranked 12th for attendance growth and 20th for growth in net square footage based on its 2010 show. It was one of only two shows to make both lists.
Last year, ABC Kids Expo became the first recipient of Trade Show News Network’s Event Excellence Award for Best Performance by a Trade Show.
The 10th Annual ABC Kids Expo will be held October 14 to 17, 2012, in Louisville, Kentucky. More than 75 percent of the exhibit space for the show is already reserved. According to their housing agent, Wyndham Jade, accommodations bookings are pacing at 57 percent ahead of last year at this time.
For more information about exhibiting or attending the ABC Kids Expo, visit www.theabcshow.com or call the ABC Hotline at 210-691-4848.
Pajaggle, the game that thinks it’s a puzzle, received The Keeper Award from Major Fun (www.majorfun.com). The prize is given to games “found to be especially successful in helping people practice principles of playfulness,” and “are exceptionally flexible, easy to learn, and easy to adapt to a wide range of audiences and play styles.”
Pajaggle also received the Best Family Fun Game seal, signifying that it’s a “top-notch product that encourages interactive fun or is well-suited to family play,” from the Tilliwig Toy Awards program.
For more information, visit www.pajaggle.com.
Australia’s environmentally friendly animal collection anamalz line of wooden animals has been awarded a Parents’ Choice Silver Honor in the Parents’ Choice Awards for Fall 2011 toys.
A portion of anamalz’s sales goes to the Anamalz Saving Animals Foundation that contributes funds to various wildlife and children’s organizations around the world.
Learn more at www.anamalzna.com.
Smart/Tangoes USA’s Penguins on Ice and Trucky 3 have won 2011 National Parenting Publications Awards (NAPPA). Recognized for being brain-building single-player games that are great for travel or on the go, both products join an elite group of NAPPA-identified quality children’s products honored in NAPPA’s 2011 Children’s Products Competition.
NAPPA’s independent expert judges evaluated hundreds of submissions for their innovation, entertainment and education values and quality. Of the products entered, 75 were selected to receive the Gold Award, 93 received Honors and 13 were chosen as “Rising Stars.”
Penguins on Ice and Trucky 3 also received the 2011 Platinum Award from Oppenheim Toy Portfolio. Another Smart/Tangoes game – Anti-Virus – received the Oppenheim Toy Portfolio Gold Seal Award.
Richard Woldenberg, current chairman and former CEO of Learning Resources, is reassuming the CEO position, replacing Etienne Veber who is leaving the company after six years to pursue other interests. Woldenberg’s family has been involved with Learning Resources, based in Vernon Hills, Illinois, since its founding in 1984.
Responding to overwhelming onsite feedback from attendees at the 2011 Smoky Mountain Gift Show in Gatlinburg, Tennessee, Urban Expositions has announced plans to shift the dates from its traditional Friday-to-Monday pattern to a Thursday-to-Sunday pattern. Show dates for 2012 are Thursday, November 8 to Sunday, November 11, which gives buyers the chance to be back in their stores and/or corporate offices by Monday.
The move also allows the show to open on the same day as the International Gift Exposition of the Smokies (IGES), in nearby Sevierville.
In addition to a unified opening date, Urban Expositions plans to continue other cooperative efforts with M & M Gift Shows, the IGES management team, including honoring show badges and sharing costs of shuttle service between the two venues.
The November 2011 edition of the Smoky Mountain Gift Show was the first to be held under the management of Urban Expositions, who acquired the show from owners JR and Eva Havlicek earlier in the year. The show is now in its 46th year.
Learn more at www.smokymtngiftshow.com.
Chris Clemmer and David Bowen, founders of Sprig Toys Inc., acquired ImagiPlay in September. Fourteen-year-old ImagiPlay is known for pioneering the eco-toy category.
“I started making eco-toys when green was just a color,” said ImagiPLAY founder Barbera Aimes. She devoted years to developing a trusted relationship with the Asian factory that produces ImagiPLAY’s popular rubberwood toys, and was the first person invited to serve on the Toy Industry Association’s Environmental and Sustainability Committee. Aimes will serve as an advisor to BeginAgain; the company will carry many of ImagiPLAY’s award-winning wooden toys and has plans to update several designs for release in 2012.
BeginAgain will also launch its own original playthings based on the work of Benjamin Barlowe. Barlowe was an early 20th-century inventor who made toys that teach through play, and that nurture the development of the whole child.
In order to increase the speed at which they complete orders for the specialty toy industry, DeLano Service recently installed a new game board production line and a rigid set-up box production line. In addition, the company is reaffirming its message that all of the board games and card games it produces are printed and assembled at plants in Michigan and Indiana. The turnkey game producer also sources most of its outside-purchased plastic components, such as pawns and molded inserts, in the United States. For more information, contact the company at 800-748-0318, or visit www.delanoservice.com. |
